Imran Khan hits out at PCB

In a U-turn befitting of a seasoned politician, the former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was at fault in the way it handled the ECB's refusal to play more than one ODI in Karachi.

"The board should never have offered England the choice of playing a Test or one-dayer in Karachi," Imran told the Reuters news agency in Karachi on Friday. "They should have insisted on having a Test in Karachi and not wavered from their stand especially after the bomb blasts in London. There are security concerns everywhere in the world given the prevailing circumstances. England must keep this in mind."

With these words, Imran contradicted his own comments from the beginning of July, when he told AFP that the ECB was not only justified in refusing to play in Karachi, but that the PCB was not to blame for the situation. Then he said: "Until and unless the law and order situation was restored such things will happen. When England's security team was in Karachi the city mayor was quoted in newspaper as saying that local elections next months will see bloodshed and everyone took notice of it. You can't blame the PCB because in such a situation if they press for a Test in Karachi the whole tour might get jeopardized."

Since then, however, there has been increasing criticism of both Khan's comments and the PCB's feeble handling of the Karachi issue. The bombings in London early last month and - in particular the lack of disruption they caused to the ongoing Ashes series - has further strengthened the criticism. Another former captain, Wasim Akram recently questioned whether the Australians would have stayed on had a similar attack taken place in the subcontinent. One PCB official, reacting to Khan's latest comments, said: "He has clearly progressed more as a politician than many of us thought."

The chorus of disapproval over England's decision to play only one ODI on their upcoming tour in October has been simmering steadily for a month now. Javed Miandad called for the whole tour to be cancelled and the current captain Inzamam-ul-Haq also expressed his disappointment at the decision, asking them to review their decision. Former PCB Chief Executive, Arif Abbasi, also condemned the PCB's stance on a radio show two weeks ago, claiming they should never have given the ECB options in the first place. And there are now reports that the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf might also ask the PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan to justify the decision at a meeting to be held to discuss cricket affairs at the end of this month.

The itinerary was eventually finalized last week after prolonged negotiations, with Multan, Lahore and Faisalabad being picked as Test venues and the ODIs divided among Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi. As well as an aversion to Karachi, England also expressed reservations about playing in Multan, although then, the PCB had displayed an uncharacteristic firmness in sticking to their guns. This had come on the back of unconfirmed reports that the ECB was insisting on a clause in the tour contract allowing for last-minute venue changes based on security concerns. The PCB has hinted at tit-for-tat reprisals when Pakistan tour England next summer, the PCB Chairman suggesting London might also constitute a safety threat.